Johnson County is expected to spend more than $3 million to address structural concerns at the county jail despite ongoing talks of building a new facility.

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved plans to repair the building and send the project out to bidders on Thursday, Nov. 13. Issues with the building's structural integrity have lingered throughout the 2020s. A 2022 assessment determined the Johnson County Jail was in "very poor" condition.

Subsequent assessments completed in 2023 and 2024 identified "concerning signs that should be addressed soon to prevent larger and more costly damage to [the] upper building structure and which may cascade into other problems within the building."

Conversations around a new county jail have persisted since Johnson Cou

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